The Breakdown(27)

‘Sue the pants off him, you mean,’ I say, trying to

lighten things, trying not to let any doubt cloud my

mind. ‘What time will you be here?’

The Breakdown





97


‘By the time I’ve showered and changed, about


six-thirty?’

‘I’ll wait in the bar for you.’

I hang up, momentarily annoyed that he could think

I’d order an alarm without telling him. But a little voice is mocking me: Are you sure, Cass, are you real y sure? Yes, I tell it firmly, I am sure. Besides, the man from the alarm company had seemed like the type of person who would do anything to get a contract, even if it meant

lying and cheating. I’m so confident I’m right that when

I go down to the bar, I order a bottle of champagne.

It’s waiting in an ice bucket when Matthew arrives.

‘Tough week?’ I ask, because he looks horribly tired.

‘You could say that,’ he says, kissing me. He eyes the

champagne. ‘That looks good.’

The waiter comes to open the bottle and serve us.

‘To us,’ Matthew says, raising his glass and smiling

over at me.

‘To us. And our suite.’

‘You booked a suite?’

‘It was all they had left.’

‘What a shame,’ he says grinning.

‘The bed is huge,’ I go on.

‘Not so big that I’ll lose you in it, I hope?’

‘No chance.’ I put my glass down on the table. ‘Have

you got the copy of the contract I’m meant to have

signed?’ I ask, wanting to get it out of the way so that

nothing can ruin our weekend away.





98


b a paris


He takes a while taking it from his pocket and I know

he doesn’t really want to show it to me.

‘You have to admit it looks like your signature,’ he

says apologetically, handing it across the table and I find myself staring, not at the signature at the bottom of the page, but at the contract itself. Filled out in what is unmistakably my handwriting, it’s even more damning than my signature, at least from my point of view.

Anybody could have forged my signature, but not the

line after line of neatly completed spaces, each capital

letter formed exactly as I would form it. I scan the page, looking for something to tell me that it wasn’t me who filled it in but the longer I look, the more convinced I am that it was, to the point where I can almost see myself doing it, I can almost feel the pen in my hand and my other hand resting lightly on the paper, anchoring it down. I open my mouth, prepared to lie, ready to tell

Matthew that it definitely isn’t my handwriting but, to

my horror, I burst into tears.

He’s beside me in a minute, holding me close. ‘You

must have been tricked into signing it,’ he says and I

can’t work out if he really believes it or if he’s giving me a way out, just as he had only days before when he said he must have forgotten to tell me he was going to the rig. Either way I’m grateful. ‘I’ll contact the firm

first thing tomorrow and tell them there’s no way we’re

going through with it.’

The Breakdown





99


‘But it’ll be their salesman’s word against mine,’ I say


shakily. ‘Let’s just leave it. He’ll only deny everything and it’ll only delay things. The fact is, we need an alarm.’

‘All the same, I think we should try and get the

contract cancelled. What did he say, that it was just a

quote or something?’

‘I’m not sure what he actually said but yes, I suppose I

thought I was only agreeing to a quote,’ I say, grabbing

at the excuse. ‘I feel so stupid.’

‘It’s not your fault. They shouldn’t be allowed to get

away with using those sort of tactics.’ He hesitates. ‘I’m not sure what to do now, to be honest.’

‘Could we just let them install it, especially as I’m

partly to blame?’

‘I’d still like to have it out with him.’ Matthew’s voice is grim. ‘Although the chances are I won’t even see him tomorrow because they’ll send one of their technicians.

He’s just the salesman.’

‘I really am sorry.’

‘I suppose in the great scheme of things it’s not such

a disaster.’ He drains his glass and looks at the bottle

longingly. ‘Shame I can’t have another.’

‘Why not? It’s not as if you have to drive anywhere.’

‘Well, yes, I do. Because I thought everything was

above board, I agreed they could come and install it

tomorrow morning. So if we’re not going to try and

get it cancelled, I have to be there for when they arrive.’

‘Can’t you stay the night anyway and leave early?’

‘What, at six-thirty in the morning?’